


Only Jon Epilogue

by PacoWashington (orphan_account)



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, see main story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-16
Updated: 2021-02-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29476287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/PacoWashington
Summary: After Jon and Dany's deaths, their daughter, Lyarra, talks about her parents.This is an epilogue for my fic"Only Jon"by Stargareed. Though it is told from the POV of Dany and Jon’s daughter, Lyarra, the epilogue’s main focus is Dany and Jon.
Relationships: Jon Snow/Daenerys Targaryen, see main story for others
Comments: 11
Kudos: 27





	Only Jon Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

> I really tried to put this story behind me, even orphaning it because it’s pretty smutty. But unfortunately, I’ve been seeing this epilogue in my head for the past few months, so I decided to write it before it drove me crazy. It fills in a lot of blanks, and hopefully will give those who have read the main story some additional closure.
> 
> Also, please note that you can't leave comments on the main fic, "Only Jon," because I forgot to turn off comment moderation before I orphaned it :(

**LYARRA POV 352 AC**

A twig snapped loudly and woke Lyarra from her thoughts. She turned to her husband who was trudging alongside her in the Wolfswood near Winterfell. “Cregan, I don’t know how you ever successfully hunt anything. The animals you kill must all be deaf.”

Cregan scoffed, “I’ll have you know I’m an excellent hunter. And you’re definitely far louder than me in other things,” Cregan looked down but couldn’t hide his wide grin.

Lyarra rolled her eyes, “I have to make noise to keep myself from falling asleep,” she japed.

Cregan’s face fell, causing Lyarra to burst out laughing. “I’m only joking. I don’t believe I could fall asleep during even if I took a whole bottle of milk of the poppy.” 

Cregan smiled. Like Lyarra, Cregan seemed to inherit none of his mother. His auburn hair and blue eyes showed how strong the Tully seed was, though somehow both their children, Rickon and Arya, had the Stark look. 

Growing up, it made her sad that she didn’t look like her mother. She’d get jealous seeing her mother comb Alys’s gorgeous silver hair and hearing everyone say that her mother and Alys looked like they could be sisters. Meanwhile, she looked far more like her Aunt Arya. _Though there is one thing I inherited from Mother that Alys didn’t._

“There’s a log over there, let’s go sit and rest and talk about more godly things,” Cregan suggested, still blushing from her recent compliment. 

It felt good to rest. She was now forty and four and tended to get sore more easily. It also felt good to be back North. She had been in King’s Landing for the past year-and-a-half, ever since her father’s death. And though Alys told her she would be more than capable of looking after their mother, Lyarra insisted on tending to their mother so Alys could focus on ruling. _And I’m glad I did; Mother was never the same after Father passed._

Lyarra felt a hand gently grasp her own and saw blue eyes smiling warmly at her. “Do you feel like talking about your parents?” Cregan asked. 

She sighed. She wasn’t sure this was a box she wanted to open just yet, though this would be the perfect place to do so. She was alone in the woods with the one person she loved and trusted more than anyone else. “I think I can.”

Cregan studied her face for a few moments, trying to confirm whether she meant what she said. Once he was satisfied, he began. “Where would you like to start? When you were a baby?"

"Later."

"Alright, was it strange when they came back from Essos after a few years away?”

“No, they just picked up where they left off,” Lyarra explained. “Of course, they involved Alys and Aemon more than ever, but that was the plan all along to help prepare them to rule. Aemon became Hand of the King in place of Davos, and Alys became Hand of the Queen. It was a position created just for her, though unsurprisingly Alys and Aemon have chosen to continue the position as they each have their owns Hands.”

“What about the Great Council?” Cregan asked. “I don’t remember any major issues.”

“Well, there was the regency issue that occurred while Mother and Father were away, but once they were back, they worked very well with the Great Council. Of course, at this point, no one on the Great Council would dare oppose them, they were so loved by the people. Father took advantage of their loyalty by delegating tasks to them, such as traveling all over Westeros and speaking with the people (noble and common) to determine what needed to be done, and then writing laws to that effect. He wanted more people involved in governing, and it was the same with his judges, and his councils.” 

“But the situation in Essos was a bit more unstable?”

“Yes. While things in Westeros were going well, Essos was another story, but that was to be expected. Though, truthfully, Essos was far more resilient than many people thought, and they were able to rise up and begin getting back to normal relatively quickly, though of course it would take decades before they were truly back to normal. And then when Daeron chose to live there, we knew he would help keep things under control. He could ride a dragon like no other and was absolutely fearless, much to Mother’s dismay, well, and Father’s too, though you could tell Father was secretly proud,” Lyarra smiled. 

“And the glass candles helped keep everyone connected,” she continued. “It was like there was an unofficial Targaryen Empire across Westeros and Essos. Though there were no Targaryen banners flying in Essos, aside from Daeron’s in Meereen, anywhere you lived on the continent you felt under Targaryen protection. At least, that’s what the Essosi told my parents when they went back to visit. That’s why many people from Westeros came to Essos looking for opportunity, which helped the Essosi markets grow again. And many people from Essos came to Westeros looking for a better life, and Mother and Father welcomed them. Somehow, it seemed like Mother and Father made the world smaller, in a good way.” 

“Things were going so well. Whose idea was it for the King to step down?” Cregan asked.

“Father and Mother had talked about it for years, but eventually they decided that they’d both step down when Father turned 60. They wanted to give Aemon and Alys a chance to rule, and they wanted to enjoy their last years. So, they traveled . . . they visited the Citadel and Hightower in Old Town, the Titan of Braavos . . . oh, it’s amusing, but the thing about Braavos that Mother enjoyed the most wasn’t the Titan, or the canals, but a particular house with a red door. She was completely enamored by it and joked that her and Father should live there one day.”

Cregan chuckled, “Aye, your mother was one of a kind.”

“That she was,” Lyarra smiled wistfully. “And of course, they went to Meereen to see Daeron and his family and Missandei. Unfortunately, Grey Worm had passed away a few years earlier. They also traveled all around Essos. It was important because their presence alone lifted the spirits of the people. Though things were relatively safe, the markets of the various cities were still not quite back to where they were before the slaves were freed, though much progress was being made, albeit slowly.”

“How famous were they in Essos by then?” Cregan grinned, anticipating the answer. 

Lyarra snorted, “It was ridiculous. So, a few years after they freed the slaves, Maester Tarly wrote all about the War for the Dawn and the freeing of the slaves in his book, ‘A Song of Ice and Fire.’ It quickly became the most popular book ever written, with every castle, major and minor, across Westeros demanding a copy or three for their library. But there was also a big demand in Essos for the book. Fortunately, some Myrish craftsmen developed a way to copy books quickly, so enough copies could be spread across Essos. Suffice it to say that when Mother and Father came a decade or so later after stepping down, everyone knew them and every Essosi child could recite how Queen Daenerys walked through the flames in Volantis then led the slaves to freedom, or how King Jaehaerys was resurrected then slayed the Others with his burning sword from the back of a direwolf. The ‘Unburnt’ and the ‘Resurrected,’ they were called,” Lyarra beamed.

“I bet your father loved all the statues,” Cregan remarked sarcastically. 

Lyarra rolled her eyes, “Gods, Father thought they were so unseemly. ‘At least have the decency to wait until we’re dead,’ he’d complain. Mother was far more sensible and told him that sometimes the people need something to give them hope to make it through the day, and that they should be grateful that their statues do that. And well,” Lyarra began whispering, “Mother always secretly enjoyed her titles,” she giggled, “whereas Father would’ve just had everyone call him Jon if he could. He preferred to be in the shadows, even as king. It’s how he was raised, always in Aegon’s shadow.” 

“Was your uncle Aegon talented?”

Lyarra furrowed her brow in thought. “He was. And Father was more than content to let him have the attention from excelling in the training yard and study room. But that all changed when Father came back from the North with Ghost. He was far more confident. Part of that was getting Ghost and learning to be proud of his Stark roots, but I think being around Jaime Lannister for two years also had something to do with it.”

“I can see your Father and Jaime getting into some trouble,” Cregan laughed. 

Lyarra grinned, “Apparently at some point during those two years, Tyrion, Jaime, Father, and Robb took a trip to the Wall. Allegedly the four of them pissed off the top, at least that’s what Aemon claims. And Father got to meet Maester Aemon for the first and only time, which meant a lot to him. Mother was livid when she found out because she wanted to go so badly. But Rhaegar was worried that Mother and Father were already too close, so he only allowed her to visit Father once, at Riverrun. But yes, I think Jaime made Jon more confident, and the two became close. But when they returned to King’s Landing, Rhaegar separated them, likely at the Martell’s suggestion, as they were already worried that Father’s betrothal to Myrcella gave him too much power with the Lannisters. Though, that was partly their fault. They shouldn’t have insisted on Aegon and Rhaenys’s betrothal, which Rhaegar granted, likely due to guilt over Lyanna. While such a betrothal gave the Martells a King and Queen, it did not give them any additional allies.”

“True,” Cregan agreed.

“As a result, Jon began spending more time with Barristan, and it was Jaime and Arthur who lost their lives in Essos, along with Rhaegar, Aegon, and Rhaenys. I don’t think Tywin ever forgave our family for Jaime’s death. And of course, it didn’t help when Father spurned Myrcella for Mother shortly thereafter. As for Tyrion, he went back to Casterly Rock and was never seen again. Tywin told everyone Tyrion ran off to Essos with some crofter’s daughter. Though after the Rebellion, Father began to believe that Tyrion likely spoke out against Tywin’s plots too strongly and was made to disappear.” 

They heard a rustle which made them stop talking and attempt to find the noise's source. Cregan nudged her and pointed to a majestic stag with a large set of antlers. She smiled as she beheld the beautiful creature in silence for a few moments, until Cregan’s abrupt sneeze sent the stag rushing off. “What were you saying about being an excellent hunter?” she raised her brow at him. 

“I was testing him to see what direction he’d run off in, so I’ll be better prepared the next time I hunt,” Cregan lied and didn’t even try to suppress his grin. 

“Sure,” she patted him on the leg. 

“So, how many statues of your parents do you think there are?” Cregan asked, trying to change the subject.

“Gods only know. And the strange thing is, to many people, my parents really are gods. But in truth, they were humans who had suffered a lot and had the scars to show it. Father would break into a sweat and his heart would race whenever he saw multiple bowmen. He’d usually be fine if there was just one or two, but whenever there was a group of bowmen, he’d panic, and Mother would have to hold his hand and whisper in his ear to help him calm down. Mother would do something similar whenever she saw someone wearing an eye patch, or any large horn. Normally Father would comfort her, but one time only I was with her, so later she explained the cause of her reaction.”

“I still can’t believe someone would do that to the most powerful Queen in the world,” Cregan wondered aloud. “I mean, did he really think he would get away with it?”

“I think he truly thought he was the most powerful person in the world, with the horn and with all the magic he picked up during his Essosi travels. But you’re right, he would’ve been killed, if not by Father, then by Mother. She told me that she was just going to bide her time until Father came for her, as she knew he could warg into Rhaegal. And if he never came, or was killed, then she planned to slit Euron’s throat while he slept because he always took a heavy dose of milk of the poppy every night to help with his nightmares. He knew he was vulnerable at night, so he always slept alone with the door locked and guards posted outside. She just had to take the time to learn the habits and rotations of the guards, and he would be dead, I’ve no doubt. He also kept the horn in his bed chamber, so she would’ve destroyed that as well after she slit his throat. But fortunately, Father came before she had to do that. She even told Father what to do by shifting her eyes towards Rhaegal and then rolling them in the back of her head. Father got the hint, and that was the end of Euron.”

“Did Euron ever realize what was happening?” Cregan asked. 

“Oh yes,” Lyarra gave a sinister smile. “Father made sure of it. He made Rhaegal shake his head ‘no’ at Euron’s commands, and then made Rhaegal look at Father’s body. It didn’t take long for Euron to understand what was happening. In fact, his last words were, ‘Oh.’”

“Kind of anti-climatic for such a legendary figure,” Cregan observed. 

“You mean a legendary liar? He didn’t do half the things he claimed. Mother would’ve slit his throat had Father not gotten there,” Lyarra spat. 

“I can’t fathom the ability to ride a dragon, much less warg one,” Cregan said, shaking his head. 

“Well, I’m glad I can impress you,” Lyarra grinned.

“What?”

“Yes, only Daeron and I can warg dragons like Father, and only Daeron and I can’t get sick, like Mother. So, even though Alys and Aemon get all the attention, Daeron and I are the truly powerful ones,” she laughed. 

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t marry Daeron. I’m not sure I could’ve defeated him for your hand,” Cregan admitted. 

“No one could, except for Father. And even then, it’d be close. You know Daeron is the only one of us that is unburnt like Mother? And don't ask me how he figured that out," Lyarra shook her head, causing Cregan to chuckle. "But you’ve nothing to worry about because I would’ve killed him first had Father betrothed us. He was insufferable. I love him to death, but seven hells he’s just exhausting to be around. Do you ever see him sitting still in a small council meeting?” Lyarra rolled her eyes. “Though it would’ve been amusing to see Father get on to him if he ever dishonored me in the slightest, like he did with Aemon.”

“What? Aemon dishonored Alys?” Cregan looked amazed.

Lyarra smiled, “Ever so slightly, but just enough to wake the dragons, poor thing. So, soon after Mother and Father returned from Essos, we were in the throne room and Mina Redwyne was being very friendly with Aemon, who was enjoying the attention. Now, Alys isn’t the jealous type, but this continued for quite some time, and Alys, who had recently given birth to Aegon, was understandably insecure about her husband flirting with a beautiful maid of ten and six. So, she eventually stormed off. Well, stupid Aemon didn’t even notice, that’s how badly he was flirting with Mina. But you know who did notice? Mother. And she unleashed the dragon on Mina, who left in tears after she was told that she was going back to the Arbor. Father even had to step in between them Mother was so angry. But then it was Father’s turn, and he took Aemon to a separate room and slammed the door. I put my ear to the door, though I didn’t need to since Father was yelling so loudly. It basically boiled down to, ‘I don’t care that you’re my son. If you ever hurt my little girl, I’ll kill you.’ And he was serious. In fact, it was Mother who had to step between them this time.”

Lyarra paused, smiled, then continued, “But then Father calmed down and asked for Mother to leave. When she came through the door, she got on to me for eavesdropping,” Lyarra giggled, “but then she did the same thing and told me not to tell Father. Unfortunately, Father was whispering so we couldn’t make out what he was saying, but they were in there for a while. When Aemon came out, his eyes were red, and he looked shaken. Neither me nor Mother ever found out what Father told Aemon, as both refused to say when asked. But whatever it was, it clearly affected him. I don't think he ever flirted with another woman again.” 

“You have to be careful. As heir to the North, girls flirted with me all the time, likely at the behest of their ambitious fathers. I couldn’t imagine how much flirting the heir to the Seven Kingdoms would be subjected to,” Cregan observed. “I assume your Father told you about Wynafryd Manderly?”

“What?!” Lyarra exclaimed.

“No-no-no, it’s not what you think, calm down,” her husband reassured. “So, Wynafryd liked to try to flirt with your father when your father came up North for the first time. Unfortunately for Wynafryd, your father was madly in love with your mother, even then. But Wynafryd was persistent and wouldn’t take Uncle Jon’s quietness as a hint. So, Uncle Jon came up with a plan with my father. He told Father that whenever he scratched his ear, Father should come get him with some urgent business. He assumed my father would make up what the urgent business actually was. But he assumed wrong,” Cregan grinned. “So, the next time Wynafryd was flirting with Uncle Jon, he scratched his ear, and Father came and told Uncle Jon that he was needed for some urgent business. Wynafryd politely asked what the urgent business was, and my father just sat there in complete silence for several moments trying to come up with something off the top of his head. Eventually, Uncle Jon asked who it was that asked Father to get him, and my father got the hint and said it his father, Ned, and that’s why he didn’t know what the business was. Your father excused himself, and Wynafryd never tried to flirt with him again. I guess she finally got the hint.”

Lyarra smiled, “I miss him. It’s good to be reminded how much he loved Mother, even then.”

Cregan hugged her and kissed her on the top of her head. “Can I tell one more story?”

“Of course!”

Cregan grinned, “Around the same time as the Wynafryd flirting incident, grandfather Ned told a Braavosi trader that he would meet him in White Harbor with his son and his Targaryen nephew. After meeting Ned, the trader assumed Jon was Ned’s son since he was the spitting image of Ned, and Jon played along. ‘Aye, I’m Robb Stark. Sorry it took me a second, I was just thinking about the nearest tree I could worship.’ And then my father paused for a second, before saying ‘And I’m Jaehaerys. Sorry it took me a second, I was just pining after my female relatives.’”

Both Lyarra and Cregan burst into laughter. Cregan continued, “Grandfather Ned was too embarrassed to correct them, so he just excused them so he could actually focus on the meeting, and they spent the rest of the afternoon pretending to be the other one.”

Eventually their laughter died, and they were silent for a while. Cregan softly asked, “Do you wish they wouldn’t have gone to Essos after they stepped down?”

“Every day of my life,” Lyarra said. “Father clearly caught something towards the end of his stay in Essos. It started as a lingering cough, but slowly got worse over the next year or two. Eventually, he became bedridden and lost his voice. Mother spent every day with him. She would lay beside him in the bed, holding his hand tightly and whispering stories in his ear. When she did this, his solemn Stark face, often wincing with discomfort, would break into a smile. They used to love to tell each other stories, and she kept up their tradition until the day he died,” Lyarra’s voice broke and Cregan hugged her. 

“When he died, she was devastated,” Lyarra regained her composure. “When he died the first time, she was devasted as well, but she had her duties to keep her distracted. But this time, Aemon and Alys told her not to worry about her duties and that they’d take care of it. In hindsight, that was a mistake, because she spent all her time thinking about Father. She’d stay in her room all day, and we’d hear her humming the song he wrote her: 'Dragons in the Godswood.'” 

Lyarra began to look pained, but then she remembered something and smiled. “But she did regain her strength for a while when the sickness came to King’s Landing a few months after Father died. Alys and Aemon could get sick, but she couldn’t, so she insisted on visiting the sick in Flea Bottom. ‘A Queen never stops being a Queen,’ she insisted. And gods, the people were just enamored by her. She was like a Valyrian goddess walking amongst them, and I truly think people believed she could heal the sick. I’m not sure that was true, but she did insist on having every available maester in the surrounding areas come to King’s Landing to treat the people.” 

Lyarra paused for a while, lost in thought, and then a sadness washed over her face. “She seemed to get better after that, though once the sickness had passed, and she no longer had to be strong for the people, she went back to her room and started thinking about Father, softly singing their song to herself at all hours of the day. She’d hold the conch shell he’d given her as a boy, and stare out the window, almost like she was hoping he’d return on the back of Lyannaxes like he did on her and Quentyn’s wedding day. It’s like she had one foot here, and one foot wherever Father was. Honestly, I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did.”

Cregan hugged her tightly, “I know you miss them. And gods they loved you and your brothers and sisters. Everyone could see it.” 

Lyarra nodded. “Toward the end, she thought I was Lyanna. She’d grabbed my hand and tell me that she made sure Jon was loved, that she loved him harder than any wife has every loved her husband. I think her and Father had visions of Lyanna when they went to the House of the Undying, though they’d never tell us what they saw. I think the visions also had something to do with Rhaella being born, because until then Mother was adamant that Daeron would be her last child,” Lyarra laughed through the tears. 

“Well, I’m glad they decided to have one more. Rhaella is such a blessing.”

“Yes, she’s a far better little sibling Daeron,” she grinned, “he was such a little shit.” 

“Well, you can’t talk about Rhaella without mentioning Aegon. Isn’t it queer that we haven’t had an Aegon as king for a while? In fact, I think we’ve had two King Jaehaerys since the last King Aegon.”

“That is strange.”

“And speaking of Jaehaerys, why did your Father go by ‘Jon?’”

Lyarra shook her head sadly, “Uncle Viserys told him that he looked more like a Jon than a Jaehaerys, so Viserys started calling him ‘Jon’ as an insult.” Lyarra began grinning, “But then Rhaegar told Father that Jon is a noble name, since Jon Arryn was one of the most honorable men he knew. And ever since then, Father went by Jon. Again, I think it was an effort on his part to stay in Aegon’s shadow. He didn’t want to cause controversy by claiming that he was a true Targaryen, though he was.” 

They heard some more rustling and soon their two gray direwolves came running toward them. They’d been gone an hour or two. Suddenly, one started sniffing and pawing at a particular tree, and the other soon joined. After a minute or two, Lyarra and Cregan got up to see what caught their direwolves’ attention. There was a hollow in the tree, and inside was a box, with “Only Jon” written on it. When they opened it up, they discovered a nude drawing of her mother.

“Quit staring,” Lyarra took the drawing and turned her back to her husband. 

“I wasn’t staring,” Cregan earnestly defended himself. 

Cregan’s insistence caused Lyarra to grin, “She’s your good-mother, you better not stare.” Cregan huffed and then turned his back in an exaggerated motion to show how much he was not staring. Lyarra studied the drawing some more. “She looks about ten and six here. Father must’ve drawn this after they met in Riverrun.” She flipped the drawing over. “On the back it says, ‘one day,’ and has scribbles that look like calculations. And I see the word ‘Braavos’ written a few times.” _My father definitely didn’t have Rhaegar’s flowing script._ “I think Father was planning to run away with Mother to Braavos.”

“I don’t think King Rhaegar would’ve taken that well,” Cregan stated the obvious. 

Lyarra smiled, “Apparently, this is where Father would go to be alone with his thoughts and plan their future together.” Her smile grew bigger. 

“Among other things,” Cregan grinned. 

Lyarra swatted him with her hand. “I try not to think about those other things,” she grimaced. “Though, everyone knew how passionate they were for one another. Everyone with ears, that is.”

Cregan laughed, “I’m sure you all enjoyed that.”

“We’d roll our eyes and complain. But honestly, we all loved it.” She paused. “In fact, I’ve never felt so safe as when I’d glance up and see Mother with her head on Father’s shoulder as they held hands. It made it seem like all was right with the world.” 

“Well, hopefully Rickon and Arya will feel the same way when they look at us.” Cregan brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek, moving his hand down to her shoulder and giving it a light squeeze. It made her feel warm inside, like it always did. 

“They do. I’ve no doubt, they do.” She kissed the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. 

“Alright, it’s getting dark, we need to head back,” Cregan stated.

“Aye. We need to get back before Aunt Arya pretends she is dead again to scare the new maester.”

“Poor lad. I doubt they had classes at the Citadel on how to survive your Aunt Arya.” 

“No, much like Mother, she is one of a kind.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
